Twelves stitches. I repeat: twelve stitches. That’s big! I had a 12-stitcher once. I was playing high school hockey. An opponent high-sticked me; he split open my chin.

Yet, I’m still befuddled. Amazed. Taken aback. A QB, in practice, hands the ball off to a running back (I believe it was Rex Burkhead). The QB, Tom Brady, ends up with a 12-stitch cut (gash) on the fleshy part of his right hand near his thumb. How? How and why did this happen? Did Burkhead fail to trim his nails? Ludricrous as it may sound, was Burkhead carrying a sharp object when he took Brady’s handoff? Was Burkhead wearing gloves with a zipper, or was he wearing a forearm protector that had sharp edges?

Usually, the quarterback puts the ball in the running-back's “bread basket”. Inside arm up. The other arm, below. Thus, “sandwiching” the football. But how does one get a 12-stitch cut?